A Pocket Guide Of Chicken Terms: For The Novice

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There is nothing more frustrating than being in the midst of caring for your first flock and hearing terms that make absolutely no sense. Much like traveling to a foreign country, chicken people speak an entirely different language. You could simply smile and act like you understood the conversation but you would be doing a serious disservice to both you and your chickens.

Over the past year I have come to appreciate the fact that flock ownership requires a good grasp of chicken terminology. It is easy to become confused trying to decipher what a pullet is or what wattles are especially when you have little background keeping chickens. However, learning how to properly care for chickens requires you to be in-the-know and to understand the lingo.

If you consider yourself a newbie like me, here is a handy beginner’s guide to ‘talking chicken’ . Whether you are simply ordering chicks, learning how to care for new birds or trying your hand at incubation, you’ll find a few key terms essential to becoming a well seasoned chicken aficionado.

Pullets – Young female birds, usually under 1 yr of age

Cockerels – Young male birds or male chicks, usually under 1 yr of age, also known as Young Roosters

Hens – Female birds who have reached the age of active egg laying; aka laying hens (egg laying occurs at about week 20)

Roosters – Male birds having reached sexual maturity and are over 1yr of age

Combs – The fleshy protrusions on the forehead of a chicken, they can range from pale yellow to bright red or vary in color depending on the breed, several shapes of combs exist and are shared by both male and female chickens alike

Wattles – The pendulous flesh similar to a chicken’s comb extending along the jowls or underside of the beak in chickens, color and size may vary depending on the breed or sex of the bird

Spurs – Hard, horn-like outgrowth found on a rooster’s leg, they have blood supply but can be trimmed as they can be used as fighting tool, harm hens or may interrupt walking stride

Ears – Most obviously it is where the chicken hears from but the color can determine egg color

Vent – The nether opening on a chicken where fecal matter is expelled and eggs pass through; aka Cloaca

Vent Sexing – One way to determine sex of a chick by viewing genitalia via the vent

Feather Sexing – Determining sex of a chick by feather formation and variations in growth

Down or Color Sexing – (also see Sex Linked) Determining sex of a chick by down color or markings

Roost – A raised sleeping area for chickens, generally made of a wooden bar or beam

Nesting Box – A 12 inch x 12 inch box where laying hens will go to lay eggs, may be shared by many hens at varying times, filled with pine shavings or straw, the box typically setting lower than the roost

Incubation – 21 day period where fertilized eggs are heated and turned to result in the hatch of a fertilized egg

Set – The first day of egg incubation (when eggs are “set”), this determines the hatch date

Lockdown – 3 days prior to the hatch date all incubator egg turning ceases, this allows the chick to settle into hatch position

Pipping – The first crack or opening created prior to the hatch of the chick, it allows the chick to breathe fresh air as it rests and prepares to break out of the shell

Egg Tooth – A small hardened protrusion on a chick’s beak which aids in pipping and cracking of the egg shell

Air Sac – Void filled with air, typically found the blunt end of the egg

Yolk Sac – The yellow portion of an egg from which a developing chick gets it’s nutrients

Membrane – The inner lining of an egg between the shell and developing embryo

Brooder Box – A box to rear young chicks, complete with heat, food and water for growing birds

Broody – The act of a laying hen sitting on eggs for up to 21 days waiting for them to hatch, she will rarely move unless the duty is shared by another broody hen

Clutch – A set of eggs a broody hen will lay on, typically 10-12 eggs average

Straight Run – A group of chicks that have not been sexed by a breeder

Layer Feed – Processed crumble or pellet designed with high protein and calcium for egg laying hens

Starter or Grower Feed – Processed crumble designed for the growing period of young birds

Medicated Feed – Specialized feed including medication to young chicks to help prevent Coccidosis

Free Feed – Feed kept available at all times for chickens to eat at anytime

Coccidosis – Parasitic disease of the intestinal tract, spread by feces, causes diarrhea and can become life threatening

Oyster Shell – Crushed oyster shell used as a calcium supplement to support hard egg shells in laying hens

Grit – Dirt, sand, small rock such as crushed granite or oyster shell given to assist birds in breaking down the food they eat

Crop – The muscular food grinding organ in a bird, grit assists with this process

Fount – Also called fountain or waterer, can be heated or not, comes in many sizes to provide water to your flock

Chicken Nipples – Drinking device that can be installed in buckets or pipe to allow slow, drip-free water obtained by birds pecking at the metal nipple

Dust Bath – Dirt, ash or diatomaceous earth in which chickens fluff and roll around in, it keeps them clean and free of mites and other pests

Deep Litter Method – 5-6 inch base of material such as pine shavings on a coop floor, alternating layers of shavings and fecal matter which can generate heat through decomposition, reduces need to clean the coop often by adding more layers

Ventilation – Means of allowing airflow to stabilize air quality in the coop, aids in removal of ammonia fumes produced by feces, important even in cold weather

Down – The first rudimentary feathering “fuzz” found on newly hatched chicks

Fully Fledged – The age in which chicks become fully feathered (5-6 weeks) which allows them to retain heat

Sex Linked – Specific breeds are cross-bred to result in offspring with down color variations indicating their sex

Dual Duty – Bird breeds that are good layers but can grow large enough to be harvested for meat

Of course, your learning does not stop here! These were just a few of the terms I came to be familiar with during my first year here on the farm. As your experience grows so will your personal chicken dictionary.

Read more about life on the farm and what I am learning as a first-time chicken keeper by visiting Dirt On My Plate.